A Counterfeit Kingdom … or Not?
The Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses is a religious organization that witnesses to others by distributing Watchtower publications door to door and by evangelizing with three primary messages …
- that Jehovah alone is God, not the Trinity
- that governments and other organized religions are corrupt
- that the end of the world is imminent
“They go door to door, proclaiming a curious message of doom, in hope that their hard work will earn them eternal life on earth.”
Joe Hewitt (former Jehovah’s Witness)
Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for several pubblications.
- The Watchtower – a magazine used to instruct the public in Jehovah’s Witnesses doctrines
- Awake! – a periodical used to introduce Jehovah’s Witnesses to the public
- The New World Translation – the Watchtower’s own translation of the Bible, containing numerous mistranslations to support the Society’s doctrines
There are a number of doctrinal beliefs that vary from Orthodox Christianity:
- Virgin Birth: Jehovah’s Witnesses admit that Jesus was born of a virgin, but maintain He is not God. Jesus was born by God’s holy power. (They believe that the Holy Spirit is an active force, not a member of the Trinity.) (Isaiah 7:14)
- Atonement for Sin: Jehovah’s Witnesses admit the penalty for sin was paid by Christ’s blood, but salvation is not by grace alone. It must be accompanied by good works, Bible study, witnessing, and association with the Watchtower. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
- Resurrection: Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus was raised from the dead in His physical body. (Luke 24:39)
- Incarnation of Jesus: Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is God. (Hebrews 1:1-5)
- Eschatology: Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus will return in bodily form, but that He already returned in 1914 in invisible form and is ruling as King on earth through the Watchtower Society. At death, every person is annihilated, except for the 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses who go to heaven and the other obedient sheep who remain in “soul sleep” until they inhabit “Paradise Earth.” Non-Jehovah’s Witnesses and the disloyal Jehovah’s Witnesses will be annihilated into eternal, unconscious soul sleep. (Matthew 24:30)
- Scripture: Jehovah’s Witnesses admit that the Bible is the Word of God, but they claim all orthodox translations are distorted. Thus, they have their own Bible, the New World Translation of Holy Scripture. It contains approximately 300 mistranslations to support their doctrine.26 They do not believe the Bible is a sufficient source of authority for Christian doctrine and practice apart from the Watchtower publications. (Revelation 22:18-19)
Grace filled words:
“We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.” (Romans 3:28-30)
